Oh, Brother
by pineylife
Summary: Louie dropped his beer bottle... I, on the other hand, laughed." My life just got a little bit crazier. Prequel to Brother and Sister. -Now Complete-
1. Chapter 1

Welcome to my new story! This is told in Danny's POV. This is the Prequel to Brother and Sister. I don't think you'll need to read Bro and Sis to get this, but if you want, no problem. Will be rated T for language, but I figure it's a pretty safe story all around.

Disclaimer: I do not own anything that is owned by CBS.

This is not betaed. So, all mistakes are mine.

* * *

It was one of the few times I decided to sit down and do my homework. There I was, sitting doing my homework and not really paying attention to what was going on around me. That's when I heard the door open and close and I looked up to see my mother walk in, looking pale. She had been pale for the past few weeks. Whenever I tried to ask if she was alright, I would get a smile, nod and say "Danny, you have to stop worrying. I'm fine."

Well, she is my mother. And contrary to popular belief, my family is one of the most important things in my life. I watched my mother set a couple of grocery bags on the kitchen counter and then pull something out of the bag before heading upstairs and I could hear the bedroom door close. I did not take much of my mother's actions and decided to be a good son and put away the stuff she had left on the counter. I needed a break from the homework load, especially English.

God I hate English.

About an hour later, my dad came home from work and immediately went upstairs where my mom was. Again, I didn't take much out of the actions by my father and continued my homework until Louie came into the kitchen, took one look at my paper and shook his head.

"What are you doing, Dan-o?" he asked picking up my paper and scanning it.

"I'm doing my English homework." I said reaching for the paper but he held it out of my reach. Louie frowned.

"Why?"

"Because I need too." I told him and Louie shrugged, handing the paper back to me, a little crumbled.

"You know, Mr. Henderson is one of the easiest teachers in that school. All you have to do is bullshit the paper and your good." Louie said as I smoothed out the paper and placed it back on the table, picking up my pencil and began writing.

I could feel Louie watching me for a few seconds and I heard him go into the living room and turn the TV on. I shook my head and continued to finish up my paper when I heard my parents come down the stairs.

"Danny, could you come into the living room? Your father and I need to tell you something." My mom said. I looked up to see her standing in the doorway of the kitchen, her arms crossed over her abdomen, looking a little uncomfortable. I nodded, pushing myself out of the chair and followed Mom into the living room where Louie was sitting comfortably on the arm chair and dad was sitting on the couch, his fingers tapping against his knee.

I watched mom sit down next to dad and she mentioned to me to sit down, which I did. This was very nerve wracking, I had to admit. Louie looked a lot less stress than I did, but I have a feeling that the two bottles of beers helped cool his nerves a little. I watched my parents and mom was the first to speak.

"Louie, Danny, your father and I have some news." my mom began and Louie looked at them.

"Divorce?" he asked and Dad shook his head and I could see the small eye roll he gave Louie.

"No." Dad said, rubbing his hands together, "Your mother…" he paused and looked at my mom and I frowned.

"Is…?" I asked, leaving them to finish the sentence for me.

"Pregnant. I'm pregnant." My mom finished for me.

Louie dropped his beer bottle and cocked his head at mom and dad. I, on the other hand, laughed.

"You've got to be kidding me. Pregnant?" Louie asked looking at me and then looked at our parents. My mom just nodded and for the first time in awhile, I saw a genuine smile play across her face.

"Yes, I'm pregnant." Mom said and I looked at my parents.

"So, there's going to be another child in the house?" I asked and dad nodded.

"Yes, Danny. A miniature one of you." he said and I heard Louie mumbled, "That's scary."

"Girl or boy?" I asked, looking at my mom who smiled.

"We don't know, Danny. It's still too early." she explained and I nodded. Louie looked at us and stood up.

"Alright, well…I hate to break up this joyous festival, but I've got a couple of appointments to keep to my clients. I shall see you all…" he paused stooping down to pick up his beer bottle and stood back up, "Later." Louie walked out of the living room leaving me with my parents.

I looked at my parents and stood up, "Well… I've… ahh… got to finish my homework…" I stuttered, pointing to the kitchen. My dad waved his had, telling me that it was alright and I escaped to the kitchen.

As I sat down and looked at my English paper, several questions suddenly came into my brain, pushing my English homework out of my mind.

_Wait… I'm 15 years old and I'm going to be a big brother? Fantastic. _


	2. Chapter 2

Here's the next chapter of Oh, Brother. Thanks to everyone who added me on their story alerts, favorites and reviewed. This means a lot to me and keep it coming. Hope you enjoy.

Disclaimer: I do not own anything owned by CBS.

All mistakes belong to me.

* * *

The next several months went by uneventful. Except for the occasional strange cravings that my mom had, it was pretty… good. I guess. I turned 16 and went out with Louie and a couple of friends for the night. School went by quickly and I soon started my junior year of high school. Louie kept making fun of me, saying that junior year was easy and I shouldn't be so worried about it. I was a _nerd_, I guess, but I'm also one of the jocks. I'm a jock/nerd. But I'm keeping the nerdy part about myself quiet.

It was the end of September and my mother was 8 months pregnant and life was alright. I was still reeling with the fact that the house would be quiet for only a couple of more weeks until my little sister was born. Yes, a little sister, I was going to be a big brother of a little girl.

The thing that scares me the most is Tanglewood. I've had my experiences with them and most of them were… alright? Being with those guys made me feel high up on the social end of the spectrum, but everything that happened before we 'went' to AC never left me and I promised myself I wouldn't put myself in that mess again. I also promised myself not to get my little sister into that mess, though Sassone already took an interest with my unborn sister. I'm going to keep an eye on him, just to make sure.

I guess you could say that I'm also nervous to be a big brother. Louie doesn't have to worry about it. He's moving to a small apartment next month so he'll be out of the house by the time she's born. I, on the other hand, will still be in high school by the time she's born. I know that my parents will make me be a baby sitter every once in a while, but could I do that? Could I be a big brother and not… I don't know. I'm just nervous.

I guess I just have to wait.

Great.

_CSINYCSINYCSINY_

It's around 4 in the morning on October 17 and I've been sitting in the waiting room at this fricken hospital for more than 4 hours. I'm tired, I have school, but don't plan to go, and Louie is stretched out on the only couch in the waiting room, sleeping. I have read these dumb parenting magazines over three dozen times and will be a very good father in the future.

Yippy. Not that I _plan_ to get married or have kids in the new future.

The minutes ticked by and we heard nothing about what was going on with my mom. She had been in labor for over 6 hours and it was dad who finally called me and told me to get my ass out of bed and get to the hospital before mom had the baby. Now, I've been here, again, for 4 hours and hitting my head against a wall out of boredom and curiosity.

Wish I brought my English book, than I could get a little farther on my book. And homework. I rested my head on my hand as I yawned again and closed my eyes. The silence in the waiting room was enough to 

slowly lure to sleep. I don't know how much time later, but I heard the doors open and my dad walk out with a pink bundle in his arms. I look up and cocked my head. I looked over at Louie who was still asleep on the couch and looked back at my dad who was now standing in front of me. I stood up and looked down to see a sleeping little child wrapped the blankets. Dad looked up at me.

"You want to hold her?" Dad asked me and I shrugged.

"Don't worry, you won't drop her." dad said as he slowly handed her to me. I took her in my arms and I held her close to me, the knot in my stomach becoming bigger as I held her.

"Relax." Dad told me and I nodded as I held her close to me.

"What's her name?" I asked.

"Cara Vita Messer." my father answered. I smiled down at the little girl who was now awake and was waving her fists in the air.

"You want to see your mother?"

I shrugged and looked at Louie, "What's about Louie?" I asked and dad shrugged.

"We'll just let sleeping beauty be for now and get him later." Dad said trying to lighten the situation, but all I could do was nod and follow him into a strangely white hallway and he entered a room where my mom was lying on the hospital bed with a small smile on her face.

"Hey Dan." she said quietly and I smiled.

"Hi Ma. How you feelin'?" I asked licking my lips and suddenly Cara started crying. I froze, but dad just plucked her out of my arms and quietly put her back to sleep before gently placing her in the crib that sat next to mom's bed.

"Tired, but I'm doing fine." Mom said as she watched dad place Cara into the crib and the baby fell back asleep. I shifted uncomfortably as I stared at my feet, at a loss of what to say next. When I looked up, mom had fallen asleep and dad was patting one of the chairs next to where he was sitting. I shuffled over and plopped down in the chair, resting my hand on my chin, staring at the little girl in the crib.

_CSINYCSINYCSINY_

"Danny, stop worrying." Dad told me later that morning when we went to get mom something to eat.

I looked up at him and sighed. I was worried. I was down right scared to be honest. I was an older brother and I didn't want the relationship between Cara and I the same relationship that was between Louie and I. I hated it with a passion and I had promised myself months ago that I wouldn't turn into Louie. Part of me was scared though, and I hated my dad for having the skill to read my thoughts. Him and mom where the only people who could do that. I hated them both for it.

"I'm not worried." I told him as I grabbed a Styrofoam cup and filled it with coffee. Dad gave me a sideways glance as he reached for a tray that had a bagel with some cream cheese with it.

"You are worried. I can see it in your face. Mom can too." Dad told me as we moved down the line. I sighed.

"I have the option to be worried, right?" I asked him and Dad nodded.

"Of course you do, Danny. Your mom's worried, too."

I gave him a look, "Why is she worried?"

"Because, she has to raise another child again, and she almost lost Cara more than once." Dad said.

I stopped and turned to him, my brows furrowed, "What?"

Dad hurried to grab something else to eat to avoid answering my outburst. But I wasn't giving up without a fight.

"Dad, answer me. What do you mean by 'she almost lost Cara more than once'?" I asked him and Dad bit his lip and slowly turned toward me.

"We didn't want to worry you, but because of your mother's age, the pregnancy was going to be risky. Really, Dan, don't worry about it. What's done is done. I'm sorry I didn't tell you, but just… don't say anything to your mother." Dad said as we made our way to the cashier and he pulled out some cash to pay.

I smirked, "You don't want to get your ass kicked, do you?"

Dad looked at me and nodded, "Hit the hammer right on the nail."


	3. Chapter 3

Sorry this took me a little longer than usual. I'm trying to get a pace set but it's not really working. I just started working, so I'm trying to juggle a new schedule with my free time. It's been entertaining. Anyway, here's the next chapter and thank you guys for loving this story! Thanks to the guys who have reviewed, placed this on alerts and favorited this story (I don't think favorited is a word...). Here's chapter three!

Disclaimer: I do not own anything that could be or may be related to CBS.

All mistakes belong to me.

* * *

I went to school the day after Cara was born. I was really, really tired and went through the whole day in a daze, just trying hard not to fall asleep in the middle of any of my classes. I managed through several periods, but when I got to science, I couldn't keep my eyes open. I got to the science room, grabbed a stack of books that where sitting across from me and I placed my head down and went to sleep.

I was awaken moments later (it turned out to be about 20 minutes later) by my science teacher. When I looked up, his arms where crossed and I could see a small smirk on his face, though he did look very, very pissed.

"You want to explain to us why you are snoring in my class, Mr. Messer?" he asked me, his eyebrow raised.

That's the one thing I didn't get about Mr. Lewis. He called everyone by their last name, you rarely heard him call us by our given names. I don't know why, but I have a feeling it's because he wants us to feel as though we are adults and we must get used to this type of respect.

I struggled to sit up and I knew everyone in the classroom was watching me. I cleared my throat and said, "Sorry, late night last night."

Mr. Lewis eyed me and then said, "Can I talk to you after class?"

All I could do was nod and watch him leave my lab station. I ran a hand through my hair and glanced over at my lab partner who was sitting next to me, staring.

"What?" I hissed at him and he jumped about three feet into the air, readjusted himself on the stool and then proceed to move it to the end of the lab table, as far away from me as he could.

Class was soon over and I was taking my time packing my things up into my backpack, waiting for everyone to get out of the classroom before I went up to talk to Mr. Lewis. I hid behind the lab station and when I heard the last kid leave, I peaked over to see him sitting at his desk, working on something. I shouldered my backpack and walked up to his desk.

"You wanted to talk to me." I stated adjusting my bag and looking at his mug filled with pencils and pens.

Mr. Lewis finished with something and then placed his pen down, "You alright?" he asked me and I nodded.

"I'm fine. Why'd you ask me that?"

Mr. Lewis shrugged, sitting back in his chair and looking at me, "Because, you have raccoon eyes."

I rolled my eyes, "It's nothing, really, it's nothing." I said and when I looked at him, I could tell he didn't believe me.

"My little sister was born yesterday morning and we got to bring her home the same day. She was up a lot last night. So…" My voice trailed off as it was replaced by a yawn. Mr. Lewis nodded.

"Get to class so your not late. And at least _try_ to get more than… 2 hours of sleep." he said and I nodded as I hurried out of the classroom and to my next class.

What I didn't know is that a couple of people where standing outside the door listening to the conversation that Mr. Lewis and I had. By the end of the day, everyone knew there was a kid at my house, but many believed that Cara was really mine, and not my little sister.

The school day had finally come to an end and my plan was to grab all my shit and get out of there as fast as I possibly could. I was halfway to that goal when I was stopped as I closed my locker door, by my ex – girlfriend, Casey. I groaned when I saw her coming, the break up had been bad, but desperately needed. Let's just say she hadn't quite forgiven me.

"So…" she started as she leaned against one of the lockers, her arms crossed and eyes narrowed, "Is this why you broke up with me?"

At this point in time, I felt very confused. I shook my head and said, "I need to know the why."

Her eyes flashed and she stood up straighter, "I heard you have a kid."

"She's my sister." I said picking up my backpack and putting it on.

"Really? That's not what's going around the school." Casey said.

"Look, I do not have a kid. Honestly, if I got someone pregnant, I think the whole school would know before the girl would." I told her and Casey shook her head before turning on her heel and left. I sighed out of relief and decided to get out of the school before anyone could stop me.

"Daniel Messer!"

Too late.

I turned to see two of my closest friends, Paul and Tim, rushing toward me.

"Get out of the way, we need to talk to that goofy lookin' man RIGHT NOW!" Tim yelled as he pushed through the crowded group outside the school. They managed to get to me, both out of breath.

"Why. Didn't. You. Tell. Us?" Paul asked looking at me.

"What, that my mom was pregnant? I told you after you told my mother she was gaining weight." I said to him and Paul frowned.

"Right."

"You do know the whole school believes this new kid in your family is actually yours." Tim said and I nodded.

"I know, I know. Casey just confronted me." I told them and Paul craned his neck to see if he could see her.

"She's gone you moron." Tim said shaking his head. I looked at my two friends. They were awesome people, but I was tired and needed some sleep.

"Guys, can we talk tomorrow? I'll fill you in then, alright?" I told them. Both of them exchanged looks and shrugged.

"Alrighty, see you tomorrow, Dan-o." Paul said. I smiled a goodbye and headed down the street to get home. And to my bed.

_CSINYCSINYCSINY_

"Mom, I can't watch a month old child. No. No! I can't!"

"Danny, it's for 2 hours. Could you please, just. It would be a lot of help for both of us." Mom said as she readied a bottle for Cara.

"But mom, I sleep between the hours of 10 and 12. Cara doesn't." I told my mom who just shook her head as she checked the temperature.

"You will do fine. Please, Danny." Mom said and I sighed, finally giving in.

"Alright, alright." I said waving my hand and leaned against the counter. Mom gave me a smile and nodded.

"Thank you." Mom said as she took the bottle and went to go get Cara from the other room. I rubbed the palm of my head against my forehead and I decided to go and do my homework before my parents left for whatever they where doing for two hours that left me alone with Cara.

I love Cara, but all she does is eat, cry, and sleep. Really, is that all babies do? I sighed as I threw my pencil against my desk and looked toward the door that lead to the hallway. I ran a hand through my hair, decided to forgo my homework for the night and I changed into my pajamas knowing that once my parents left, I would be fretting for the next three looong hours of my life.

When I heard the front door close, I jumped up from my chair and looked around my room. Why the hell was I so frantic? I took a deep breath, grabbed my CD case and headed downstairs where Cara was quietly lying in the crib, her eyes glued to the ceiling. I bit my lip as I watched her look around and I laughed when she gave a small smile and a little giggle. I shook my head as I made my way to the stereo system and I pulled out a CD I knew Cara liked and placed it in and allowed it to play.

That was one of the few things I learn… quickly. This child is a little over a month and she is already addicted to music. Whenever I put on some music, she gets really, really quiet and I really think she's dancing to the music, but she doesn't really know how to… dance. Yet.

I sat down on the couch near the crib and watched her quietly talk to herself (more like grumble to herself) before she started crying. I groaned and stood up, scooping her into my arms and holding her close. I walked over to the CD player and searched through the tracks until I finally found the one I was looking for. I sighed and looked down at Cara who was still crying but it was slowing down as the music continued. Soon, the crying stopped and she looked around interested before looking up at me and reached for my glasses.

I took them off, seeing that I had to replace another pair the week before because she had broken them. I still could see nearby things, but I was as blind as a bat when it came to long distance stuff. She seemed to give a small frown when I took them off, but then smiled when she started listening to the music again. I looked up at the stereo and smiled.

Thank you Phil Collins.


	4. Chapter 4

Sorry this chapter was so short, but it's a little fluff moment between Danny and Cara. It shows their relationship. Next chapter should be up tomorrow or the next day, but ahh... I'm being very lazy with the stuff I should be working on, including this. So. Enjoy this chapter and thanks for all the reviews I'm getting. They are all very positive and I like positive.

Disclaimer: I do not own anything related to CBS.

All mistakes belong to me.

* * *

My 9 month little sister is a big ball of energy. She will not, ever, slow down and it drives my parents up the wall. She's walking already, but not bothering to learn how to talk. Whenever you ask her questions, she'll watch you inventively, cock her head and then turn her attention back to whatever she was doing prior to the question.

Cara loves to play with balls, soccer balls are her favorite and since we have about three dozen baseballs hanging around the house (thanks to me), she has invented a game that causes me to run out of the room in fear and her to laugh her head off.

It involves me, baseballs, and being thrown at. Cara can't throw that hard, but it's still really annoying when I walk into a room and I suddenly get attacked with baseballs. But I can't complain, it's the joys of being an older brother and honestly, it's a lot of fun. And it gives me an excuse to 'forget' I have homework. Boy I am sneaky.

Like usual, I have another girlfriend. She's pretty nice, but I honestly think that Cara doesn't like her much. When she likes to play her little baseball game, I'm usually the only participant, but now she has decided that my new girlfriend, Bekka, will also join in on the fun. The other day, Cara nailed her in between the eyes. It took all my resolve not to laugh which failed and she stormed out of my house, fuming.

We broke up three days later.

So I guess I don't have another girlfriend.

_CSINYCSINYCSINY_

I was sitting at the kitchen table, running a hand through my hair as mom got dinner ready.

"You sure you don't need help?" I asked mom for the uptenth time. She looked over at me.

"Danny, if you really want to help me, you can go and cut up some vegetables." She said and I nodded, standing up and grabbing some out of the refrigerator and began cutting them. We worked in silence before we heard the pitter patter of feet and Cara running into the kitchen, her favorite stuffed animal in tow. She ran over to mom and grabbed her around legs and giggled.

"Hey there, Cara." Mom said with a smile as she rubbed her head. Cara gave a smile and ran over to me and wrapped her arms around my legs.

"Hey monkey, what you up too?" I asked her and she hid her face in my leg.

I had given her that nickname when she first started walking. She was all over the place and it reminded me of a monkey. So, the nickname stuck to her and I've been calling her monkey for god knows how long.

Cara looked up at me, smiled and then ran over to one of the kitchen chairs, placed her stuffed animal (which was a puppy) and proceeded to climb up onto the chair and adjust herself so she was sitting facing the table. She looked over at us with her huge smile and lifted her hands in the air in victory.

I looked over at my mom to see her smiling, but the little sign of worry still present in her face. I looked over at Cara and smiled while holding my hands in the air.

"Yay!!"


	5. Chapter 5

So, here is the next chapter of Oh, Brother. I'm really glad that you all seem to like it, because I know I like writing a younger Danny. It's really fun and different. Note: I will begin skipping some years between chapters and sections. It will give you glimpses of Cara at different stages and not just as a little baby.

Disclaimer: Still don't own anything related to CBS.

All mistakes belong to me.

* * *

_Cara is a year old._

School just started up for me again, well… a month ago but still, it started up again. I'm now a senior in high school and trying to decide what I want to do with the rest my life. I really want to get a baseball scholarship so I can get to collage (my parents don't have the money to send me to collage) and get an education. I've already had several conversations with my counselor (many of them forced) and he suggests I stay within New York, which I don't mind.

Cara is still as bubbly as ever, except she is still refraining from talking. She's climbing up on furniture, anything in the small backyard, and still throwing baseballs at me. Though she does like to cuddle, but I don't. So, she'll curl up next to me and cuddle with me but I'll just sit there next to her. She'll poke me when she wants my attention. She mainly does that when she wants me to cuddle.

I was sitting at the kitchen table, my history project taking up most of the room when Cara came walking in, her puppy being dragged against the floor. She looked tired from playing all day and with my parents both at work; it was going to be my job to put her down. Cara stuck her puppy on my lap and tried to climb up on my lap, but she was having some problems. I picked her up and rested her on my lap as she rested her head on my chest with her puppy held close.

"Hey monkey." I said to her as I flipped through my history book looking for a page as she yawned.

"Alright, give me 5 more minutes and I'll get you to bed." I told her as I picked up my pencil and wrote down a couple of things. When I finished, I looked down at her and she was fast asleep on my lap. I put my pencil down and picked up her, making sure I brought her puppy with us. I carried her up to her bedroom and quickly and as quietly as I could, changed her into pjs and placed her in her crib. I added her puppy to the crib which she instinctively grabbed and held close. I smiled, gave her head a little rub and headed downstairs to finish up my history.

She slept through the whole night.

_CSINYCSINYCSINY_

_Cara is now 4. _

"Danny! Give me!"

I looked over to see Cara pouting and her arms reaching for the chocolate bar I had in my hand.

"What's the word you need to use, Cara?" I asked her as I broke the bar in half.

She frowned, "Please?"

I nodded and handed her half of the bar which took happily and took a bite of.

"Tank you." she said and I smiled.

"You're welcome." I said to her and she returned her attention to the board game that we had abandoned earlier that day and gently moved around the pieces. I took a bite of my piece of chocolate and watched her move around the pieces.

"You want to go outside?" I asked her and she jumped up with a nod. She ran outside to the backyard first to grab her… soccer ball.

I watched her run out to the front yard and I followed her a couple seconds later. She was already outside playing with the soccer ball when I got outside and I sat down on the lawn to watch. This had become a routine for us. She'd play with her soccer ball and I would watch. I wasn't huge into soccer but she had turned into a soccer fanatic. Though I don't know how a 4 year old could be a soccer fanatic.

We where out there for about 10 minutes when I noticed that there was a car sitting across the street and it hadn't moved since we gotten outside. I licked my lips and watched the car carefully and it took me a little bit to figure out who it belonged to. I stood up and looked at Cara.

"Can you go inside, Cara?" I asked her and Cara looked up at me.

"Why?" she asked and I shrugged.

"I need to talk to someone, alright?"

Cara nodded and grabbed her soccer ball and hurried back into the house. When I heard the door shut, I walked over to the car and knocked on the window.

"Sassone, what the hell have I told ya." I asked him through the window. The window slowly rolled down to reveal a smiling Sonny Sassone.

"Why, Messer? I was just sitting here waiting for a friend." Sassone said with a laugh. I frowned.

"Get. Out." I said to him, now beginning to get angry.

Sassone looked behind my shoulder and then back at me, "May I say, your little sister is a very cute kid. She's going to be a very beautiful woman." he said.

It took all my will power to not launch myself at him. "Sassone, get your fancy car and your ass out of the block and I do not want to see you around here, alright?" I said.

Sassone frowned, "Oh, what you going to do, huh?"

"You know what I'll do." I told him and he seemed to finally get the hint. He rolled up his window, started the engine his car and drove off. I ran a hand through my hair and looked behind me to see Cara staring out the window, her old stuff puppy in hand. I sighed and ran my hair through my hair again and rubbed my forehead as I headed back to the house. I opened the door and headed over to Cara and I gently picked her up. Cara looked at me and gave me a smile.

"Don't be sad." she said with a pat on my head. I nodded and hugged her. Honestly, I shouldn't be the one worrying, it should be my parents.


	6. Chapter 6

Alright, next chapter is ready to go. There might be some things in the next few chapters that might not makes sense age wise, but it's not my fault. You know... I could be all wrong time wise, but WHO KNOWS! And I'm not going to be too picky, it just needs to makes some sense. Thanks for all the love this story is getting. Thanks!!

All mistakes are mine, for this does not have a beta.

Disclaimer: I own nothing related to CBS.

* * *

_Danny is in his junior year in collage and Cara is 5 years old. _

I'm an idiot.

Okay, not really an idiot, but a gigantic, stupid, asshole.

I'm sitting in a hospital room, an icepack pressed again my face as a nurse stood next to the hospital bed, checking my wrist and moving around my fingers. I winced every time she tired to move one of my fingers and growled in pain when she managed to move one of my fingers.

"On a scale of 1 to 10, how bad is the pain?" the nurse asked me.

I removed the ice pack from my face, looked over at the nurse and mumbled, "11." I placed the ice pack back on my face and closed my eyes.

The nurse gave me a look and turned her attention back to my wrist, "Let me get the doctor. You'll probably get an x-ray to check to see how bad the wrist is." she said and left the hospital room. I sighed and removed the ice pack from my face to check out my wrist.

I sighed, again. This was ridiculous. I managed to get my ass kicked in a bar fight and at the same time, break my wrist. I had called my parents and my dad had answered the phone. You know what he said to me?

"So… how are you getting yourself out of this one?"

Fuck. I'm so dead.

The doctor came in about 20 minutes later, his white lab coat on and a clipboard in hand.

"So, the nurse told me the pain was an 11." The doctor said.

I mumbled something incoherent before saying, "Yeah, the pain is an 11."

The doctor nodded and said, "Alright, lets get you over to x-ray to see how bad it is."

I nodded and went to stand up. The doctor said, "I'll get a wheelchair."

I didn't feel like arguing with anyone, so I just nodded, plopped down in the wheelchair when it came into the room and let myself be lead to the x-ray room. I was still swimming in the idea that I was such an idiot and if this break was exactly how it felt, I was so screwed when it came to baseball.

Somehow I got to the x-ray room and then back to the hospital room. The pain killers are really starting to kick in, I guess. So, I'm sitting on the bed, the ice pack back on my face to help my swollen eye when I heard the door open. I looked over and saw my mom and little Cara run to one of the plastic chairs to sit down.

Mom shook her head, "Danny, what did you do?" she asked sitting at the edge of the bed and frowned.

"I got in a bar fight." I said quietly feeling suddenly very ashamed of myself.

Mom sighed and shook her head, "A bar fight, Daniel? You just turned 21." she said and I looked down at my wrist.

"Honestly, I think that my baseball career's over." I said and mom reached over and rubbed my back. Cara looked at me.

"No baseball?" she asked and looked at me.

I shrugged and I said, "Maybe."

Cara seemed to frown and then, "I'm keeping the baseballs."

I laughed, "Really? Okay, okay. You're keeping the baseballs."

Leave it up to Cara to always make a bad situation not seem so bad. I guess since she's so young she doesn't really pay attention to the bad things. I think I will give her all my baseballs.

_CSINYCSINYCSINY_

Well, I did do a number on my wrist and the doctor says I'm going to be out a good couple of years with recuperation, physical therapy and even with that it may not be completely back to normal. So, I'm pretty much off the team (their letting me keep my scholarship so I can go to school) and I'm changing my major to chemistry. I have no idea what I'm going to do, but I'm going to see what will happen.

So, once a week (usually a weekend), I take Cara for a day or two so we can spend time together. It's nice, I have to admit and now that she's older, we can do a lot more things without me having to carry a diaper bag. Bad experiences with that, you don't want to know.

I decided we would go to the Bronx Zoo this time around. Cara loves animals and maybe she'd enjoy.

"We get to see bears, right?" Cara asked as she turned back toward me and smiled. I nodded.

"Of course, these guys have bears." I told her and she nodded and she started to run off.

"Hey, monkey! Slow down." I yelled out and she turned around and shrugged but didn't move from the spot she was in. I caught up to her and she grabbed my hand and walked next to me, pulling at my arm (thank god it wasn't the hurt one) and talking happily about the animals we where going to see that day. I paid for our admission (after convincing the women at the ticket counter that Cara was under the age so she could get in for free. Cut me a break, I'm broke) and we headed into the zoo where Cara ran up to the first area she saw.

"Danny! Zebra!" Cara said pointing to a couple of zebra that were grazing out in their exhibit. I smiled and stood next to her as she jumped excitedly from her place on a bench. We stayed there for a couple of minutes before Cara jumped off the bench and said, "Let's go find something else."

I nodded and allowed her to lead the way to where she wanted to go. Time seemed to whisk by as I began losing track of how many animals we had seen that day. Though I did enjoy watching a couple of gorillas attacking one another; Cara was too busy staring at a baby gorilla to even notice what was going on less than 100 feet away.

The day finally came to an end and since it was very late, Cara was going to end up staying at my small apartment I had managed to get with my minimal wages at a local sports bar (not the same place I got my ass kicked). As we walked, Cara was walking slower and slower and if I didn't carry her, we'd end up going backwards. The first bench I saw, I had her get up on the bench and hop on my back so I could give her a piggyback ride at least to the subway station. We got on and as I let her slide from my back onto a chair, I could still hear her claiming she wasn't tired and that she could walk the rest of the way.

I leaned against one of the poles as I watched her sit in the chair, her legs dangling off the seat as she quietly chatted to herself and looked around the pretty empty subway cart. We had awhile to go and about 10 minutes into the trip, she had fallen asleep in her chair. As the subway rolled down the tracks, I watched Cara and I could feel myself being dragged into sleep. The subway finally came to a stop at my station and I picked Cara up in my arms and slowly headed toward my apartment. When I had finally managed to open the door with one hand, I put Cara on a small bed that was in the small guest room. I shuffled out and not bothering to change into pajamas, I fell asleep.


	7. Chapter 7

Here we go with chapter 7! I'm also very happy with everyone who enjoys this story. That means a lot to me. Special shout out to laurzz who has been a big support throughout this story. Thanks very much laurzz!

Disclaimer: I do not own anything related to CBS.

All mistakes belong to me.

* * *

_Danny is in his final year at the Academy and Cara is 10. _

"Oh, Danny, I'm so proud of you. Really, I am." Mom said as she adjusted my hat and flattened out the shoulders of the jacket. I sighed.

"Mom, the uniform looks fine, you can stop fixing it." I said as I took my hat off and ran a hand through my hair. Now it was my mom's turn to sigh.

"I just fixed your hat, Daniel, you didn't have to take it off." she told me and I rolled my eyes.

"Ma…"

"Is this still good?" Cara asked. We looked over to see Cara holding up a cup of yogurt. I nodded.

"Should be." I told her and she nodded, heading back to get a spoon and she went to sit on the couch, her arms resting on the back of the couch as she watched mom and I bicker over the uniform. She spooned the yogurt into her mouth as she watched inventively.

"Mom, I think he looks fine." Cara said and I looked over at her with relief. Someone finally sided with me.

Mom looked at Cara, then back at me. "You're right. He does look fine." she said with a small smile on her face. I knew mom was proud of me, but she didn't have to be completely worried about me and how I looked for my graduation. There was a knock at the door and Cara jumped off the couch to go and answer to door. There were two people it could have been, either my friend, Don Flack, who I met at the academy or Louie.

Cara came back a few seconds later with Don behind her. Mom turned around, "Oh, hello Don. You look nice." mom said.

Cara smiled, "I told him he looked spiffy."

I looked at Cara, "Spiffy?" I asked and Don looked at me.

"That's what I said." Don said as he sat down in one of the chairs.

Cara smiled, "What's wrong with the word spiffy. I like it." she said as she went to throw her yogurt out and came back into the living room to grab her shoes.

"Mom, come on. You remember with Dan's graduation, we got seats in the very back because you were too worried about how he looked in his robe." Cara said as she shoved on her shoes and grabbed mom's hand, gently pulling her toward the door.

"Alright. Well…" she paused and looked at Don and then me. She looked like she was tearing up and Cara seemed to get that feeling to so she began pulling at mom a little harder.

"Bye mom. We'll see you after the ceremony." I said with a small wave, trying to get her out of the apartment. She waved and followed Cara out of the apartment. When the door closed, I sighed out of relieve, glad to get her out of my hair for a little bit.

"Your mom's nice." Don said and looked at me. I shot a glare at my friend and grabbed my wallet, slipping it into my pocket.

"Let's get outta here." I said and Don nodded standing up and headed toward the door. After I locked it, we made our way too the academy.

_CSINYCSINYCSINY_

We where at a bar after graduation, talking and the older people having a couple of drinks. Cara begged me to try some beer, but I refused and she decided to stick with her root beer. I don't know why, but she says that it makes her feel like a partial adult because the drink has the word, 'beer' in it.

Really? I don't ask.

Dad had decided he needed to head out early since he was working. I was just glad he had managed to the graduation, though he couldn't stay for the after party. Mom, Louie, Cara, Don, and one other friend, Kevin, where sitting in the bar talking about what we were going to do after we graduated. Kevin had gotten a job offer down in New Jersey, so he was going to be leaving within the next week and a half. I was pretty sad about it, since he was a close friend at the academy, but it was still pretty exciting for him.

Don was staying in New York, because his father was the famous NYPD detective. Donald Flack, Sr. He is a pretty intimidating man when you first met him, but he's not too bad of a guy.

My mom and Cara didn't really know what I was going to be doing because I refused to tell them. I wanted it to be a surprise.

"Hey mom, remember I introduced you to Detective Mac Taylor?" I asked mom and she nodded.

"Yes, quiet man, very serious, but nice. Why?" Mom said remembering the meeting and nodding.

"Well, one of the reasons I introduced you to him was that he runs the New York Crime Lab." I said.

"What does that have to do with anything?" Cara asked grabbing a potato skin and taking a bite of it.

I rolled my eyes and said, "Well, a couple of days ago he asked me if I wanted a job as a CSI at the crime lab."

"Really?" mom said, her eyebrows raised and I nodded.

"Yeah, and I said yes." I told her.

"So, you have a job? That's pretty sweet." Cara said. She didn't really sound impressed and I think it had to so with the fact she had no clue what a CSI was. I had already decided I would explain it to her later.

Mom's reaction was a bit different.

"You did? That's fantastic, Danny. Really? That's just great." she said exactly and I smiled.

Don rolled his eyes, "I told you she'd be happy." he said shaking his head at me.

Louie laughed, "So, you're an honest to god geek now? I'm so proud."


	8. Chapter 8

Holy moly, it's been awhile. I'm very sorry for the delay but with work and trying to catch up with school, it's been crazy. Hope you guys enjoy this chapter and thanks for the continued support. You all rock. :D

Disclaimer: Nothing belongs to me.

All mistakes belong to me.

* * *

_Cara is 11 and Danny has been with the Crime Lab for about a year. _

It's been a few weeks since 9/11 and it's been hard to deal with the sudden loss of a lot of people in a single moment. I mean, really, really hard. We lost so many officers, fire fighters, and the main casualty, civilians. One of those civilians was Mac's wife. He's been taking that really hard and so has Cara. Claire had babysat Cara more than once and I know Cara really loved Claire and looked up to her.

It's been really weird to look up at the skyline and not see those two towers. It's such a change and a hard hit on the city. It's just hard to put those emotions into words. So I'm not going to spend a lot of time reminiscing on this event, though it's very hard not to.

I decided to head back home for a couple of days to get away from the madness of Midtown, but really, when I got home, there was something else that I had to deal with that I know could have been prevented from the start.

When I walked through the front door of the house, Cara came sprinting up to me looking very upset and not herself. She practically jumped into my arms but I managed to control her so she didn't break my back.

"Cara, what's wrong?" I asked her and she rubbed her eyes.

"It's Sassone. He's really scaring me." Cara said running a hand through her hair and looking at me with desperation in her eyes.

"Come on, let's go talk." I said and she nodded, grabbing my arm and pulling me up to her room. When she got into her room, she went straight to her window and opened it up before climbing out. I knew she was going to sit on the roof and I carefully followed her. I wasn't a big fan of climbing up the roof to sit, but I still did it.

I finally got up on the roof and sat next to Cara, who was sitting with her chin on her knees.

"What did he do?" I asked her as the moments of silence slowly passed by.

"He's been following me after school. I mean, he tries to be discrete, but you know he has that nice car and no one here owns a car as nice as his." Cara said shaking her head.

I watched her slowly and I knew there was something more going on with her than what she was telling me.

"What else?" I asked her, gently pushing her to tell me more.

"He's… he's trying to get me to… oh… I don't know. Really? I think he said something like a… whore? Whatever that really is cause honestly? I don't keep up with the 'lingo.'" she said. Her end comment caused me to laugh, but the first part of the comment caused me to feel sick to my stomach.

"He said that to you?" I asked her and she nodded, scooting closer to me resting her head on my shoulder. I wrapped my arm around her shoulder as she gently shook her head.

"What should I do, Dan? Really? I don't know I'm just a kid." Cara said.

I smiled, "That's the first time you've admitted you're 'just a kid.'" I told her and Cara shrugged.

"Well… I am. You call me a kid all the time." Cara said. She didn't have to tell me that, I knew because that was the nickname I gave her, along with monkey. I held her closer to me, feeling really upset, like I failed in some sort of way. She was my younger sister; she shouldn't be growing up this fast.

I wanted it to stop, I just didn't know how.

_CSINYCSINYCSINY_

"Danny, you look either very sick or you just didn't sleep." Don told me when I came into work a couple days later.

I looked at Don and sighed, "Yeah, I haven't been sleeping." I told him.

"Wanna talk about it?" Don asked and I shrugged.

"It's just my little sister, that's all." I said and Don mentioned me to continue.

"Remember, I have a little sister too, you can talk to me."

"Yeah, but your sister's a rebel." I said.

Don rolled his eyes, "Don't remind me. Just forget about it and continue."

"Well… there's a gang up where I live that my brother was involved in and I know that my dad had something to do with the mafia I think. I don't really remember I was young when he left. The leader, Sassone, has been following Cara around and she's really shaken up about the whole thing." I told him.

"You're sister's a pretty strong kid. I mean, she doesn't get scared easily, right?" Don asked and I nodded.

"No, she doesn't get scared often, that's why I'm really worried. And I guess Sassone mentioned to her that she could be the little whore. She doesn't even know what that means!" I said.

"You didn't tell her, did ya?" Don asked me and I was taken aback.

"You really think I'd tell her. She'll find out eventually and honestly, now is not the time for her to know." I said and Don held his hands up in defense.

"Hey, I'm just checkin'. Don't get defensive."

"I'm not getting defensive!"

"Shouldn't you two be working?" Mac Taylor asked us as he entered layout, his arms crossed, his face still showing signs of sadness and sleepless nights. I felt really bad for the guy, he was beating himself up about Claire and I could see how it was eating him up. I was glad he had Stella Bonosara (who was a close friend of his) to make sure he would stay at least somewhat healthy.

I quickly nodded, "I'm working, sorry about that boss, we were just talkin'." I told Mac who nodded.

"Alright, but more working and less talking." Mac said and I nodded. Mac nodded and looked around the room quickly leaving to go do some more work.

Don watched Mac leave, than asked, "Alright, we'll finish this conversation later. Sullivan's or hoops?" he asked.

"Hoops." I said and Don nodded.

"Alright, gym at 8. Be there." Don said before leaving layout and me to my work.

Aiden Burn walked into the layout, looking behind her as Don left, "What was he doing here?" she asked pointing toward Don.

"I was talking to him." I said as I pulled some evidence from a shirt.

"Really? Heart to heart?" Aiden asked.

"Does it matter to you?"

"No, just curious." Aiden said pulling a bag of evidence toward her to begin processing it.

I watched her as she worked. I decided to take her lead and work. Man, I need some Advil.

_CSINYCSINYCSINY_

It was around 9:30 by the time I got home and that's when the phone rang. I picked it up and tiredly said, "Hello."

"It's me."

"Hey Cara. You doin' alright?" I asked her.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I'm coming to see you tomorrow. Louie said he's going to take care of it." Cara said and I nodded.

"You don't mind hanging out in the lab for a little bit, do you?" I asked her.

"No, I'm cool with that."

"Alright, monkey. See you tomorrow?"

"Yup. I'll be there."

"Love ya."

"Love you too, Danny."


	9. Chapter 9

I had honestly forgotten about this story until I was sitting in the car today after my soccer game and it dawned on me; I needed to get another chapter up! So, here is this chapter, sorry for the wait. It's life and school I tell ya. There will be two more chapters after this and they should be up within the next two weeks, maybe, but don't hold me to that. Thanks for sticking with it, I'm hoping people still like this story and enjoying it!

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

All mistakes belong to me.

* * *

_Cara is 12_

I was in a rush and Aiden wasn't helping my cause.

"So, you finished the reports."

"Yes."

"The trace evidence…?"

"With Zack."

"And DNA?"

"With Jane." I stopped and turned toward Aiden, "See, I told you everything would be pretty much ready for you when I left."

Aiden nodded, "You're a good friend, Messer."

I shrugged, "I try. You know I do."

Aiden gave a small smile, "Alright, so why are you in such a rush?" she asked.

"Cara has a soccer game I promised I'd go to." I told her throwing my wallet into my bag before shouldering it.

"She a good player?" Aiden asked me and I nodded.

"I think she's pretty good. Though, I have been told I'm being bist because I'm her brother." I told her and Aiden smiled.

"Who told you that?" Aiden asked and I shrugged.

"Some random parent on Cara team. Cara did tell me that the parent is a piece of work along with the daughter." I said and Aiden laughed.

"Really then?" Aiden smiled, "Alright, I should have this case wrapped up soon. Go and have fun." Aiden said and I nodded.

"Thanks a lot for taking this." I said and Aiden rolled her eyes.

"Just go. You're getting sentimental." Aiden said and I rolled my eyes, "Oh, wait. How's the girlfriend going?"

I turned and didn't say anything for a couple of seconds before I gave a small smile, "You don't want to know." I told her.

Aiden laughed, "What did I tell ya, Messer. What did I tell ya?"

_CSINYCSINYCSINY_

The final whistle of the game blew and Cara's team ran off the field, happy to have won the game, which was brutal. I stood up, stretched and picked up my bag as I made my way off the stands. I stood by the fence and waited for Cara to make her way to where I was standing. She had a huge smile on her face when she got to me.

"Did you see that goal I scored?" Cara asked practically jumping by the time she got to me.

"Yes, but you know you just tripped and the ball happened to go in." I told her and Cara frowned.

"Stop spoiling my parade, will ya? It was a good goal."

"It was luck." I told her and she leaned against the fence to swack me upside the head. I rolled my eyes and Cara said, "I need to go ask one of my friends something real quick. I'll met you at the car."

I nodded and headed toward the car carrying her soccer bag and she came running to the car.

"Did dad come to the game?" Cara asked opening the door and jumping into the front seat and closing the door.

I shook my head, "Dad was supposed to come to the game?" I asked her and Cara frowned, not looking to happy.

"Oh… never mind." she said quickly pulling on her seatbelt and slouching down in her seat. I didn't start the engine right away, just gave a look before turning the key in the ignition and putting the car into drive and pulled out of the parking lot, heading back to my apartment.

_CSINYCSINYCSINY_

_Cara is 13_

The whole day seemed to be a blur to me. A huge blur. Mac had left a short time ago and I was now forced to wait for my family. Alone.

Lindsay had called me, offered to come and wait with me so I wasn't alone. I told her I wouldn't be to good company, and it was something that I had to handle on my own. I thanked her though, and was glad that she had offered to be there for me.

She'd had come anyway, telling me she had something for me to listen to. We sat together and listened to the tape recorder that she had brought over. I now knew who had done this to Louie and why Louie had done this. He was protecting me. I went to apologize to my brother before I escaped outside for some air.

About 20 minutes after Mac had left, I heard someone running from around the corner. I didn't look up though, thinking it was another doctor or nurse late for their shift. I felt a body forced around my waist and I looked down to see Cara, her face hidden in my said and I could tell that she was trying her hardest not to cry. She hated when people saw her cry.

I wrapped her in my arms and my parents came around the corner, both looking very concerned and mom looking like she had spent most of the car ride in tears. I gave a look at my parents who quickly made their way inside the hospital. Neither Cara nor I moved, and I knew Cara didn't want to move because she hated hospitals, like me.

"Is he alright?" Cara asked.

I frowned and cursed my dad for not telling her the truth when I called. Now I had to be the one to break the hard truth to her. I could do it to complete strangers, but my little sister? That was something I knew I couldn't do.

Quietly clearing my throat, I blinked a couple of times before saying, "Louie's in a coma." I said and I could hear Cara hold back a sob.

"Dad never mentioned that. He just said Louie was in the hospital."

_Fuck, I'll kill him. _

There was silence between us before she asked, "Why did it happen?"

I opened my mouth and closed it again. I knew why it happened, but I couldn't bring myself to tell her. I decided this might be a good time to just slip a little lie.

"I don't know, Cara." I told her and Cara let go and sat down against the wall.

Cara frowned and I sat down next to her, just listening to the silence. Several minutes later we heard the soft sound of high heels on concrete. I looked up and saw Lindsay walking toward us. In her hand was a cup of coffee which she quietly handed to me.

She sat across from us and didn't say anything for a little bit. Cara looked up at looked at Lindsay, she had no idea who she was.

"Who are you?" Cara asked, rubbing her eyes, making them redder than they originally were.

Lindsay held out her hand, "Lindsay Monroe. I work with Danny."

Cara took her hand, "Cara Messer. I'm Danny's little sister. And I've heard a lot about you… except I've begun to know you as Montana."

Lindsay shot me a glare and I shrugged, "She thought Montana was cute."

Lindsay cracked a smile and said, "It's nice to met you, Cara, and please call me Lindsay."

Cara gave a small grin and nodded, "I'll try to remember that." There was a moment of silence before Cara stood up and told us that she was going to visit Louie. She left us together and I ran a hand through my hair, resting my arms on my knee as I stared at the coffee cup.

Lindsay licked her lips, "You alright?" she asked carefully. I looked up at her and nodded.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just a little shocked." I told her, "Thanks for the coffee."

Lindsay nodded and moved to sit next to me and took my hand.

"You know that everyone is here for you." she told me and I nodded.

"I know, I'm just worried."

I was beginning to like this girl I had dubbed Montana.


	10. Chapter 10

Honestly, this was a quick update. The last chapter is written and I'll post it in the next couple of days. I hope you guys enjoy this second to last chapter.

Disclaimer: Nothing own, I do.

All mistakes belong to me.

* * *

_Cara is 14_

"You have this thing for playing hero, don't you?"

I shot my sister a glare as I stared at my hand, which was now wrapped in a splint while I waited for someone to tell me if I was going to get a cast.

"I don't have this thing for playing hero."

"Yes, you do. Look, you got your ass kicked by trying to find a way to get out, and you got the girl in the process." she said pointing to Lindsay who was sitting in the corner of the room, obviously amused by the conversation I was having with Cara.

"I had the girl hours before I got my ass kicked." I told Cara who smirked.

"You still got her."

I rolled my eyes, "I hope you know this is the last time I ever tell you my relationship status."

"No! I'm your sister, I'm supposed to know your relationship status; it comes with the job."

"And so does being REALLY annoying." I told her which caused her to shut up pretty quickly.

"Fine, guess I'm not sneaking out to get you actual food instead of hospital food. I was going to be nice…" her voice faded as a small smirk played on her face.

"Alright, I'll take everything back if you get me a pastrami on rye." Danny said and Cara nodded.

"I think I can scrap something up. Close to the 2nd Avenue Deli, I think and with the radius being…"

"CARA!"

"Fine. Lindsay, you want anything?" Cara asked.

"Just turkey would be fine."

"Alright, I'll be back." Cara said slipping out of the hospital room. I shook my head.

"I hate it when she plays ninja." I mumbled and Lindsay got up to sit next to me on the bed, her head resting on my shoulder as she played with my uninjured hand.

"Adam's fine, he's getting ready for skin graphs now." she said answering my unasked question and I nodded.

"That's good. He's not… blaming himself, is he?" I asked Lindsay.

"I didn't stay for long, but I talked to Hawkes and Hawkes is saying he is." Lindsay told me and I sighed.

"I hope he really knows it's not his fault." I said and Lindsay shrugged.

"It's hard to convince someone of that." she said and I placed a kiss on her temple.

About 15 quiet minutes later, Cara was standing in the room, her back against the door, totally out a breath.

"Do you know how crazy those nurses are? I was almost attacked!" Cara said pushing herself off the door and handed me my pastrami on rye and Lindsay turkey sandwich.

"Did you think of hiding the bag?" I asked her and Cara shook her head.

"That might be your problem. Hospital staff are crazy about people bringing in outside food." Lindsay said as she took a bite of her sandwich.

"Well… thanks for letting me know." Cara said crossing her arms and frowned causing Lindsay and I to laugh.

_CSINYCSINYCSINY_

Cara was flipping through my DVD collection as Lindsay and I finished our dinner. I looked up at her as I balanced my fork on my plate.

"No chick flicks, please." I called out to her.

She turned to face me and frowned, "Can you see me picking a chick flick?" she asked as she turned back to the DVDs.

I looked at Lindsay and nodded, "Yeah, I actually could." I said to Lindsay who smirked and placed another piece of food into her mouth.

We finished out dinner with some talking before Cara came bounding up to us, holding a DVD.

"Thought you guys might enjoy this one. You've had it forever, Dan!" Cara said handing it to me and I looked at it.

"Oh yeah… Alright, go get it ready." I told her handing it back to her and she ran back to the living room.

When Cara started hanging out with us on nights she didn't have anything to do, I started to get worried. Not about how Cara would treat Lindsay, Cara loves Lindsay. I was more afraid of the stories that would be shared when I wasn't around. Lindsay has already heard several very embarrassing stories, including one that included an awkward moment with one of my friends back in high school.

Yes, the joys of having a younger sister who has nothing else better to do with her time besides telling 'fantastically funny' (that's how she puts it) stories.

Strangely enough, I don't mind it to much. I've grown from this awkward teen brother who wasn't thrilled to have a younger sister to having a great relationship with her. As Lindsay and I put away our 

dishes, we heard the unmistakable music of Harry Potter float into the kitchen. I smiled at Lindsay, this wasn't the first time Cara changed her mind about the movie and would stick in a more recognizable, more 'enjoyable' film. What can I say? She makes my life that more interesting and the fact she's growing up is a little strange. I just hope she knows that she can come to me (Or Lindsay for that face, Linds loves this crazy child) whenever she needs.

And first boy that breaks her heart? I'll break his neck.


	11. Epiloge

So, here's the final chapter. I'm glad you guys liked this story and a special shout out to laurzz and MooCow09 for being huge supporters throughout this whole thing. Thanks guys so much for that.

This chapter takes place around... 15 years after the last one. That's a rough estimate, so don't take it literally.

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

All mistakes belong to me.

* * *

Epilogue

Alright, this shouldn't be happening.

I'm standing in the doorway, watching my little sister run a hand through her hair before she turns toward me.

"Alright, what do you think?" she asked me with a smile.

"I think you're crazy." I told her and she frowned.

"Danny, be serious here. I want you to be at least semi-serious." she said and I knew I had upset her. She had a point though.

"Cara, I think you look beautiful." I told her and she finally cracked a smile.

"Thanks for actually saying something that didn't involve the fact that you are scared to death about giving me away." Cara said turning back to the mirror for one final look.

"I'm not scared to death." I told her coming up behind her and I adjusted my tie.

"See how you're playing with your tie? You did that before you married Lindsay. You're nervous." she told me and I let my hands drop.

"Well, I guess you do know me better than I thought." I told her and she gave a smile.

"Danny, thanks for walking me down the aisle. I mean, after what happened with dad…" she said but didn't finish her sentence. She didn't need to.

Ever since the falling out she had with dad, she stopped going to family dinners and would only talk to mom on the phone and met up with mom for lunch at a local diner. When he died, the one thing Cara regretted was not trying to fix things between the two of them. She was going to walk down the aisle alone, but decided against it for reasons that I hadn't yet figured out. I wasn't going to pressure her though, she had her reasons and I wasn't going to force her to tell me.

"Don't worry about it. I'm glad you asked me." I told her and wrapped my arms around her shoulders before giving it a light squeeze. She rested her head against my shoulder, like she used to do when she was a kid. For a moment, we stood there in silence before I brought her back down from her memory lane state.

"Come on, munch, we need to get you married." I said to her and she smiled and nodded. We walked to the doors that entered the church and I could her next to me, taking controlled deep breaths as she got ready. I took her arm in my and gave it a light squeeze.

"Love ya kiddo."

"Love you too, Dan."

Hours later, we were at a small reception area and I was standing by a small bar, taking a sip of my drink. Cara was dancing with Hannah and Matt on the dance floor. I watched as Ben walked over to her and lifted Hannah up to dance, allowing Cara dance a little more with just Matt. Ben and Cara switched kids so that neither would get upset for not dancing with the other.

I smiled into my glass and set it down on the bar surface. I leaned against the bar and crossed my arms as I watched the interaction between my kids, my sister, and my brother-in-law. This allowed me to wonder, why was I so worried about Ben?

I guess you could say I was just being overprotective of my sister. I should have learned this a long time ago; she can take care of herself, she can be a strong, independent women and she has proven that to me more than once.

After the song ended, Matt and Hannah ran over to me and I picked up Matt in my arms as Hannah happily bounced at my heels. Matt was exhausted; he was beginning to fall asleep in my arms. Hannah was also losing the energy and I could tell it was time to head home. I went to find Lindsay, who was talking to my mom and told her that I would be back in a few letting Matt and Hannah spend some time with grandma.

I headed back to the dance floor where Ben and Cara were dancing. I stepped up and smiled, "Can I cut in?" I asked.

Ben nodded, gave a smile to Cara and went off the dance floor. Cara sighed, "I think I'm done for the night." she said quietly resting her head on my shoulder.

"You can't go to sleep now, Car." I told her and she nodded.

"I know, but I'm ready to just get away."

I smirked, "I can relate to that."

Cara looked up at me and smiled, "I bet you can."

I laughed and kissed her on the forehead, "We're going to get going, I'll see you later, alright?" I said and Cara nodded.

"Say goodnight to the twerps for me and thanks to Lindsay." She said as she gave me one last hug and I nodded.

"I will, take care, Cara."

"Love ya." she said with a smile and she turned and headed toward her new husband.

I watched her go. She was a grown woman now. There was a part of me that still looked at her as that little baby I held for the first time in the hospital.


End file.
